Uruguay Permanent residence visa requirements
Uruguay permanent residence is open to retirees and rentiers with no fixed minimum income: a notary certifies your pension or rents, and residence is permanent from the start.
What the law asks for, what the government charges, and how the application runs. Checked against Uruguay's official sources on Oct 7, 2026.
- Minimum income
- No fixed minimum Migración sets no minimum income: a notary's certificate states your pension or rents, the monthly amount and how it reaches you in Uruguay. Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
- Residency
- Permanent from the start Dirección Nacional de Migración; Migration Law 18.250. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
- Government fees
- UYU 4,080 (about $100) Residence application and Migration certificate to get the Uruguayan identity card. Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
- Lawyer
- Not required Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Who qualifies for the Permanent residence visa
Retirees and people living on rents apply to the Dirección Nacional de Migración for legal permanent residence, open to any foreigner who intends to settle in Uruguay. Migración sets no fixed minimum: you show a notary's certificate of your pension or rents, the monthly amount and how it reaches you in Uruguay. Residence is permanent from the start and gives the same rights to health care, work and social security as Uruguayans.
Migración sets no minimum income: a notary's certificate states your pension or rents, the monthly amount and how it reaches you in Uruguay.
Migración publishes no minimum income for retirees and rentiers: the notary's certificate states your nominal monthly income and how it reaches Uruguay, and Migración can ask for more evidence in special cases.
Under Law 16.340, a foreign retiree who gets permanent residence can bring household goods and one car into Uruguay, if they receive at least $1,500 a month from a pension or other income from abroad and buy a home worth at least $100,000 (not sold for 10 years) or hold $100,000 of Uruguayan government bonds at Banco República for 10 years. The car cannot be sold for 4 years. The benefit costs nothing.
Permanent residence can be cancelled if you are away from Uruguay for more than 3 years.
Migrants and their families have the same rights to health, work, social security, housing and education as Uruguayans.
If you leave Uruguay for more than 6 months while the application is open, you must bring a criminal record certificate from the country where you stayed.
Fees are set in indexed units (UI), which INE adjusts daily for inflation, so the amount in pesos rises over time. If you miss your appointment, the fee is not refunded.
Permanent residence visa documents
Every residence permit
- Valid passport or identity document; if your nationality needs a visa to enter Uruguay, the visa must be valid
- National criminal record certificate (state or provincial ones are not accepted) from your home country and every country where you lived 6 months or more in the 5 years before arriving, for anyone over 18; people born in the US can have fingerprints taken at Interpol in Montevideo to request the FBI check
- Valid health card (carné de salud) from a public or private provider licensed by the Ministry of Public Health
- Vaccination certificate showing you meet the Uruguayan vaccination schedule, from a provider licensed by the Ministry of Public Health
- Passport-style photo, brought to the appointment
- Marriage certificate issued within the last year, or court recognition of a de facto union, when you need to prove a family tie
Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
This visa
- Notarial certificate (from a Uruguayan escribano) stating that you are a retiree, pensioner or rentier abroad, the type of income, the nominal monthly amount and how you receive it in Uruguay
Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Foreign documents must be apostilled (or legalized for countries outside the Apostille Convention) and translated into Spanish by a Uruguayan public translator; documents from Brazil need no translation, and electronic documents that can be verified online need no apostille. Bring originals that are still valid. Ask your lawyer whether a document must also be translated.
Permanent residence visa fees
| Residence application, 557.30 indexed units (UI), at the INE value of 6.6560 pesos for 7 October 2026 | UYU 3,709 (about $90) |
| Migration certificate to get the Uruguayan identity card, 55.70 UI at the same value | UYU 371 (about $10) |
Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026. Lawyer and agency fees are not set by law; ask for a fixed written quote.
How the application runs
- Gather documents at homeCriminal record certificates covering the last 5 years and any marriage or birth certificates, apostilled or legalized, then translated by a Uruguayan public translator.
- Get local certificatesIn Uruguay, get a health card and a vaccination certificate from a provider licensed by the Ministry of Public Health, and a notary's certificate of your pension or rents.
- Apply online and payWith a gub.uy user account, fill in the Residencia Legal form, attach the documents as PDFs and pay the 557.30 UI fee by bank transfer or at a payment network.
- Attend the appointmentOnce Migración accepts the file, book a day and time at its Montevideo office (Mercedes 1004) or an office in the interior. Arrive within 10 minutes of the slot with the originals, and bring an interpreter if you do not speak Spanish.
- Get your identity cardPay the 55.70 UI migration certificate to get a Uruguayan identity card while the residence is processed. Hand in any missing documents in a single visit, at the office where you started.
Spouses and children
Your spouse or partner applies with the marriage certificate, issued within the last year, or a court recognition of the union. Children under 18 add a birth certificate, both parents' written permission to live in Uruguay, and proof of study from age 4; they rely on your proof of income.
Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Other ways to live in Uruguay
Permanent residence for Mercosur nationals
Citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana get permanent residence by proving their nationality, with identity, criminal record and vaccination papers but no proof of income. Same 557.30 UI fee; Brazilians and Paraguayans pay nothing.
Dirección Nacional de Migración; Migration Law 18.250. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Permanent residence through a Uruguayan family tie
Spouses, de facto partners, parents and siblings of Uruguayans qualify for permanent residence by proving the family tie.
Migration Law 18.250; Dirección Nacional de Migración. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Temporary residence (residencia temporaria)
For foreigners of any nationality who come for a set activity such as work, study, research or business, for at least 6 months and up to 2 years, renewable. Holders can enter and leave Uruguay freely while it is valid.
Dirección Nacional de Migración; Migration Law 18.250. Checked Oct 7, 2026.
Permanent residence visa questions
How do I retire to Uruguay from the USA?
Apply to Migración for legal permanent residence with a notary's certificate of your pension, a national criminal record check (people born in the US can request the FBI check through Interpol in Montevideo), a health card and a vaccination certificate. The fee is 557.30 UI, about 3,709 pesos.
What are the requirements for a couple to retire to Uruguay?
Each of you applies for permanent residence with your own documents. Your partner adds a marriage certificate issued within the last year, or a court recognition of the union, apostilled and translated.
What is the Uruguay rentista visa?
Uruguay has no separate rentista visa. Rentiers, retirees and pensioners apply for legal permanent residence and prove their income with a notary's certificate of the type of income, the monthly amount and how it reaches Uruguay.
Is there a minimum income to retire in Uruguay?
Migración sets no fixed minimum for residence. The only official figure is in Law 16.340: retirees with at least $1,500 a month from abroad and a home worth $100,000 can import household goods and a car duty-free.
